Moving On
by tripwasmyhero2161
Summary: When Fred died, he was greeted by friends.


A/N: I wrote this in a few hours. I just had an idea and it come out this way.

I am not going to be posting much soon National Novel Writing month is November, so I am going to be focusing on that, but my other fiction will hopefully be updated before then.

I don't own anything that is Harry Potter.

Moving On

Fred opened his eyes to see the ceiling of his and George's joke shop. It looked cleaner and brighter than any time they had been in there before. He didn't know how he had gotten there. The last thing that he remembered was sitting on the castle wall laughing with his brothers. Even though he was laughing then, it was still a dark time. Now, everything felt light and peaceful.

Fred finally stood up and looked around. He called out for his brother, but there was no response. He made his way to the back office in search for his brother, but no one was there. When he got to the back office, he heard the bells on the front door jiggle. Fred pulled out his wand and slowly moved towards the front.

"I bet he's here. You know Harry gave them the galleons to open this place. I think it might be even better than Zonko's." A familiar male voice said. Fred couldn't see him from his hiding spot, but it couldn't have been. He had been dead for two years. There was no way it could be true. 'It could be an imposter.' He thought trying to raddle his brain for answers.

"There is no place better than Zonko's." Another male voice said. This one he did not recognize. Fred moved closer to the front to see who it was, but he didn't want to be seen just yet.

"Are you sure he's here? He could be at home or at the Burrow. We haven't tried those places yet." A female voice said.

"No, he'll be here." A third male voice said. This one he did recognize. It was Remus' voice.

Fred finally got close enough to see the group that had formed in the front of his shop. The first man looked like Sirius, but younger, the other man was Harry, and the woman who had fiery red hair. It stood out among the other three. Then there was Remus, he looked younger than before and without the scars.

Fred finally made his appearance. He knew if he was wrong about the four, he could fight his way out and George would fight be his side.

"It's about time." Fred decided to lighten the mood. He lowered his wand as he started to feel safe.

"You must be Fred." Lily was the first to approach him. She opened his arms and hugged him. Fred had to crouch just slightly for her to hug him. "I'm Lily, Lily Potter." She said as she let go.

Before Fred could say anything, Sirius said, "I told you he would be here." He turned away from the other three and said, "It's good to see you again, Fred." Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.

"Sirius, you-you were killed by Bellatrix. How are you here?" Fred couldn't wrap his head around everything. "And Remus, you were fighting. Is the battle over?"

"Yes, Fred, the battle is over." Remus said simply, but there was something cryptic in his voice.

"Why are we here? We need to fight!" Fred started to race out the door, but the man who looked like Harry stopped him.

"The war is over." He said pushing his back.

"James, we need to explain before we can tell him about the war." Lily hissed at him.

"James? You're Harry dad and you're his mum. But you're both dead and Sirius is dead, but Remus you're still alive, right?" He pointed at each of them. He was coming to a realization, but didn't want it to be true.

"Maybe this is going to be best over some ice cream." Lily placed his hand on the small of Fred's back and guided him out of the shop. "Everyone should be there by now."

Diagon Alley was bright. The shops were all open unlike the last time he was in the alleyway. There were no people in Diagon Alley except for a group that was sitting outside the ice cream parlor.

"It's about time." One of the members of the group shouted as they approached. He couldn't make out who it was though.

Lily stopped with Fred while James, Sirius, and Remus kept moving towards the crowd.

"Fred, before we go over there, I want to tell you something." Lily started. "But you have to promise me something." Fred nodded. "You can't ask too many questions about the present, do you understand?"

Fred's forehead furrowed. He didn't understand why he could ask about the present.

"Fred, you died during the battle. You have come here to understand your fate. I am here to watch after you as you do so. You're mum watched after Harry for me for many years and now it is my turn to return the favor." She explained. "Plus, where I go, the Marauders go."

They continued to slowly move towards the group. Fred started to make out faces.

"Fred! We haven't seen you since you were a baby!" The two identical men rushed over. "Fab, was this the one who bit me or the one who spit up on he?"

"Uncle Fabian, Uncle Gideon?" Fred was amazing. He never really knew his uncles. The Prewett's were pretty much cleared out by the time he was born. His mum was the only one left. But Fred knew that they left defending all that was good.

"Knew he'd recognize us! It's the eyes, isn't it?" Gideon elbowed his brother before hugging his nephew. His mum had pictures in albums and one of the Prewett family on the wall in the living room. He recognized them from that photo. Mum said it was taken right before they were killed.

Fred looked at the rest of the table; he didn't really recognize anyone else. Fred sat down next to his uncle at the table. "What flavor would you like?" Lily asked as she walked to the door to the parlor.

"Surprise me." Fred said as he tried to match faces. He knew his uncles, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, James, and Lily, but didn't know the other two.

"I'm Marlene McKinnion." The women with curly blond hair said. She extended her hand across the table. Once she leaned back, Sirius put his arm around her.

"Dorcas Meadows." The brunette also extended her hand to Fred.

"Wait? You all were in the original Order?" Fred finally came to the realization.

Remus nodded, but before he could say anything, Lily came back with his ice cream. "Chocolate, it makes everything better." She took her seat next to James.

"Where's Mad-Eye then? He was on the original Order. Is he going to pop out somewhere? He was always the joker. Or Professor Dumbledore?" Fred laughed as he took a spoonful of ice cream.

"They had other things to attend to today." Tonks said.

"So, are you the welcoming party?" Fred finally said something after a few moment of silence. It seemed that everyone was focused on him. He knew the Marauder's they were the prank kings of Hogwarts. He didn't think silence was their thing.

"In a way, yes." Remus explained. "Lily thought it would be nice for you to see friendly faces when you found out you had died."

"Plus, we are her to help you make a decision." Lily added.

"What decision?" Fred asked.

"About your fate." She said.

"I have a choice?" Fred was confused. His choice was to be alive with his brother and family. That was his choice.

"You can stay in Diagon Alley here and be surrounded by familiar places and things or move on to the afterlife where you will be greeted by all your friends and family who have passed."

"What if I stay here?"

"Unfortunately, you'll be all alone, but you'll be surrounded by everything you knew." Sirius piped in. "It is much more fun in the afterlife. Quidditch every day, days by the Black Lake, and you'd be surrounded by friends.

"But you are all here?"

"When someone dies, they will need help passing over. That is why we chose to come here, to help you." Lily tried to explain.

"All of you came to help me?"

"Like I said before, Molly helped us out and now we want to help you." Lily said. Fred instantly thought of the first time he had met Harry at the Burrow. His mum didn't hesitate to welcome him into the family. Harry spent more time at the Burrow than the spent with his aunt and uncle.

"You were a brother to Harry when he had no one. We saw you give Harry the map when he needed it. You celebrated birthdays and holiday together. You are our family." James, of course, would bring up the map at a time like this.

"You are going to have to eventually make a decision though." Marlene said. "I know it will be hard, but you have to."

"First, I want to know what happened. How did I go?"

"Laughing." Sirius said. "Always the way to go."

"Is the war really over?" Fred asked. The group just nodded.

"What about everyone else?" Fred asked.

"Everyone else who deserves to be here will be here in time, but you have to be patient." Lily said. She gave him a soft , warm smile.

"I've made my decision." Fred stood up as he announced it. "I want to move on. Fred will be along eventually. I might as well do it properly."

Out of the corner of his eye, Fred saw a light. It was coming from his shop. The first thing he thought was 'FIRE!', but this was the afterlife. Fred moved away from the table without a word. He moved towards his shop.

"We'll see you soon Fred! Next Quidditch match starts at noon! We could use a good beater." Marlene shouted out.

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed, but when Fred looked back they were gone. He was all alone in limbo.

Fred opened the door to the joke shop and saw the light coming from upstairs. He followed it to the top step. Voices came from the light "Fred! No not my Fred!" it was his mum crying out. "He was a good man." He had heard Harry say. "I don't know how I am going to do this alone, Fred. I'm going to miss you." He finally heard a voice identical to his say.

Fred knew that this was the right decision. He wanted to be there when his family and friends arrived. He wanted to do it right. He walked into the light.


End file.
